BERLIN (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is planning to buy Spanish bonds from financial institutions and other investors to raise demand for the nation’s sovereign debt and reduce the interest burden, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported.
In an advance of the report released ahead of publication on Saturday, the Munich-based newspaper said it had learned from sources in Brussels that the ECB could now become active through the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) on behalf of euro zone countries.
The ECB could become active immediately as soon as a request from Spain reached euro zone countries. “It is evidently ready to make this step,” the newspaper said, without attribution.
(Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum)
